Output Tracking Control of Single-Input-Multioutput Systems Over an Erasure Channel

The output tracking control problem is investigated in this article. First, a new tradeoff performance index is presented for single-input-multioutput (SIMO) systems. Based on the frequency-domain method, the tracking performance limitations under time delay, packet loss, and channel noise effects are derived. We use a bivariate stochastic process to model the packet loss, and assume that channel noise is additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Two explicit expressions of the best tradeoff performance are given with the single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and two-degree-of-freedom (TDOF) control structures. It is shown that the tracking control performance has a close relation with the intrinsic characteristic of the plant, as well as the time delay, packet-dropouts rate, and power spectral density of AWGN. We also demonstrate that compared with the SDOF control structure, the TDOF control structure can improve the systems' attainable performance. A simulation example is finally discussed to validate the conclusions.